


Together We Ride

by Mickeyhale



Series: Planning [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Laura Hale, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Babies, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Everyone Is Alive, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Humor, M/M, Marriage, Mpreg, One Shot, Pack Family, Puppy Piles, Romance, Smut, Some Plot, single mom Laura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 17:11:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14193720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mickeyhale/pseuds/Mickeyhale
Summary: Raising kids is a wonderfully insane thing to do. Stiles and Derek manage their life of raising three kids under the age of five together pretty well. With a few disasters here and there.





	Together We Ride

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO! Though this work is part of a series/universe, you don't need to read the first to read this one! It reads as sort of a prequel, and you might appreciate some of the characters more, but really you can read it without the first. I've been DYING to get this fic out for a while, and I'm glad I finally did it, phew!
> 
> As with the first fic, this takes place in a universe where werewolves are not known, and male pregnancy is a norm. 
> 
> Also, I would just like to say that I have NOT forgotten about FTROMH! I'm still working on it, it just takes me a bit longer.
> 
> Happy reading! :)

“Caleb, put it down,”

Stiles has his hands out, trying not to make any sudden movements.

His two year old son just looks at him, confused at his Daddy’s serious tone. His big amber eyes and angelic face may deceive one into thinking he was a serene and calm child. 

But Stiles knows better. 

“Daddy! Art!” He squeaks. His messy brown hair and big eyes make him look adorably innocent. 

When Stiles came home from grocery shopping, he had been in a great mood. His interview this morning went really well, and he was confident it would lead to a job. 

He had come home to their small apartment and given his husband a quick peck on the lips and a smack on the ass. 

“Caleb’s down for a nap,” Derek had told him. 

He had sighed in happiness. Wanting to take a quick shower, he had brought the groceries straight into their room, and dumped them on the bed, giving a quick glance at the sleeping toddler in his crib. 

That was his mistake. He had to learn not to underestimate Caleb. 

“Derek!” He says very quietly, but urgent enough for his husband’s supernatural hearing to pick up his tone. He thinks that if he doesn’t make any moves, Caleb might just stop what he’s doing and move on to something less destructive. 

Unlikely, but a parent of three children under the age of five can hope.

“Yeah?” He hears his husband call out. 

“I need you to come over here, right now.” 

“I’ve got lunch on the stove and the twins in the playroom, Stiles.” He hears no sense of urgency in his husband’s voice. 

“Derek Hale, you are completely useless to me,” He declares, resolving himself to the disaster he is about to jump start. 

“Caleb, baby, I’m going to ask you one more time. Please give Daddy the bananas,” He reaches his hand out, trying to take the two fruits that his toddler is clutching in   
his tiny hands. Normally, one might think that giving a toddler fruit would be completely harmless. Those people don’t know Caleb.  
In the eight minutes that he was in the shower, his two year old son has somehow climbed onto the desk in Derek and Stiles’ room. Not only has he smeared the bananas all over the computer screen and keyboard, but he had somehow found Derek’s wallet, and has stuck all of his bills to the wall with banana mush. 

Additionally, he has found his way into their CD collection, and was in the middle of rubbing the rest of the bananas into Stiles’ Wicked album.   
It only adds to the outrageousness that Stiles is only dressed in a pair of boxers, hair still wet from his shower. 

“Stiles, what was it you wanted- “Derek’s voice fills the room as he enters. 

“Der, don’t move,” He warns. 

“Papa! Papa!” Caleb beams, jumping up and down on the desk. Stiles winces as he watches the toddler jump on the key board. He watches as Derek takes in the scene in front of him, eyes glowing blue when he sees that Caleb got into his CD collection and wallet. 

“Stiles, what the fu-heck?” Well, at least Derek is able to keep the profanity at bay.

“I thought he was sleeping! I was in the shower for five minutes!” He says defensively. 

“We’re not supposed to bring destructive materials into the room, Stiles! How did he even get up there? Was the chair pushed in?” 

“It was bananas and yogurt, darn it! And the chair was pushed in!” 

“He must have jumped,” 

Jesus, werewolf babies are the worst. It’s not like Stiles doesn’t love them to pieces, because he does. He just wishes they would stop jumping four feet in the air at age two.

At the word “Jump”, Caleb squealed “Jump Papa! I jump!” 

And before any of them could stop him, Caleb jumps at a supernatural distance right into Derek’s arm.

Thank goodness for Derek’s werewolf reflexes, because he catches Caleb relatively easy. But there was no stopping Caleb from smushing the bananas he has in his hands right into Derek’s face. 

“Oh, babe.” Stiles says, trying not to laugh. Between the smushed bananas and glowing eyes, Derek is quite the site. 

“Art!” Caleb shrieks, giggling hysterically. 

“We need a bigger place,” Stiles announces, looking at Caleb’s mess. 

That, they did. 

Xxx

“Your kid is insane” 

Erica always has a way with words. 

They’re sitting in the café that she and Boyd own, eating dinner with the rest of the pack. They fell into the habit of meeting there for dinner every full moon, before they spent the night at Laura’s, who was the pack alpha. 

Derek never knew how much he would love being in such a big pack. For so long, it was always just him and Laura, and then Talia. Cora went away to South America and joined the pack there, but she comes back every now and then

Peter was part of the pack until he tried to kill Laura and take her alpha powers, but they fought him off. He hasn’t shown his face since.

It wasn’t until he recruited Erica, Boyd, and Isaac, that he really understood what having a pack means. He had done it out of necessity, but quickly realized how much he craved that sense of safety that you get from family. And he knew he had wanted that in his life.

When Laura had gotten pregnant, and was simultaneously abandoned by her boyfriend, he suddenly had a new family member. Talia became their whole world, the most important thing in the universe for Laura. And then he was helping her raise Talia, and it hit him even harder how much he wanted this. How much he wanted the   
unconditional love, and the sense of security and purpose. 

And then he met Stiles, and he knew exactly who he wanted it with. 

He didn’t know it right away. First, he just thought Stiles was this annoying kid who never took anything seriously. But then he saw that it was actually the opposite. 

Stiles treats everyone and everything in his life with absolute dedication. He was brilliant, caring, and incredibly compassionate. 

Having a family with Stiles is everything he wanted and nothing he expected. Everything they’ve done, everything they’ve gone through, they’ve done it together. He couldn’t imagine spending his life with anyone else.

When they decided to start a family, it was right after Derek had finished his thesis, and had secured his job teaching at Beacon Hills University. Stiles had decided to work as a freelance web developer, so he could be at home with the new baby. 

When he heard they were having twins, he was beyond ecstatic. Two new babies? All he could do was imagine two beautiful children with Stiles’ eyes and moles and laugh. He probably should have anticipated that twins would be double the amount of work that Talia was, but he hadn’t really cared. They were starting a family.

It didn’t hurt that most of their friends were also having babies. Stiles, Kira, Allison, and Erica were all pregnant together. Stiles had someone to commiserate with, and it felt like they were all taking the next step together. 

The twins were hard work. While Claudia was sleeping regularly after two weeks, Andrew was quite a screamer. It took them a while to figure it out, but after a year, 

Stiles and Derek had found their rhythm as parents.

Stiles and Derek were the only ones who decided to have another kid so soon after the first. Everyone called them crazy, especially since they already had twins. 

But Stiles grew up an only child and wanted a big family just like Derek. They wanted their kids to be close in age, and so they decided to have another baby.

Lydia was pregnant, though. And once again Stiles found someone to commiserate with. Though it was Lydia’s first, and she was a lot more panicked than they were. 

And then Caleb was born, and everything they thought they knew about raising kids went out the window. 

Ever since he could crawl, Caleb has been giving Stiles and Derek a true run for their money. Even at six months, Caleb would always manage to crawl away and find the most dangerous thing in the room to play with. He would be constantly climbing on high surfaces and try to break anything he can find. 

He always looks really apologetic after he breaks something. He really just enjoys getting his hands on anything he can touch.

He’s constantly challenging them as parents, and they find themselves having frequent conversations on their parenting philosophies and how they best want to combat this.

The sheriff tells him that this was exactly how Stiles was when he was a baby. Though with all due respect to his father in law, Stiles isn’t a werewolf, and therefore the   
Sheriff never had to worry about him using supernatural abilities to jump places. 

Halfway through his terrible two’s, the toddler has developed a frightening fascination with electrical plugs and harnesses some deep desire to break everything he finds apart. 

It’s hard to get mad at him, because he’s just so cute. He looks freakishly like Stiles did when he was that age, from what the Sherriff has shown Derek in pictures. Derek doesn’t know how Stiles’ were disciplinary at all when he was a baby. Not with those doe eyes. He feels like he’ll never actually be angry with any of his kids.  
Though Caleb smearing his lecture notes in bananas last night came pretty close.

Right now, Derek can understand where Erica is coming from. Stiles had just run off to pull Caleb away from behind the counter, where apparently, he had been plugging and unplugging the coffee maker.

“He’s just curious. He likes to know how things work,” He means it, too. Caleb is fascinated by anything. His eyes are always widening in curiosity every time he learns something new about the world. As a parent, it’s amazing to watch, but also frightening.

Stiles comes over, looking harried and sitting with Erica and Derek.

“Phew, that was a close one,” 

“Your kid is insane,” Erica repeats.

Stiles rolls is eyes, “He’s just curious,” Derek smiles. 

“What did you do with him?” Derek asks, looking around the café. 

“Talia was more than happy to take him from me,” Talia has pretty much been their regular babysitter for a while now. She’s fifteen and is always in need of a few extra dollars here and there. Derek always feels a little bad using his teenage niece for babysitting, but they pay her well and she’s always happy to watch her cousins. 

“You guys are so lucky you have Talia around to do your dirty work. I don’t know how you would manage three kids without her,” Erica leans back, smirking. 

“Hey! She does not do our dirty work. She only comes over like, once a week. Two, tops,” Stiles says defensively. 

“We’re not the only ones, Scott and Kira use her also,” Derek adds. 

“Whatever, Parker’s enough for me. I don’t know how you guys manage three kids,” 

They look over at the kids, who were all playing with the building blocks that Stiles brought to dinner. It was really nice that Stiles, Kira, Allison, and Erica were all pregnant at the same time. Their kids always play together, and it lets the parents relax a bit during full moons. 

Though right now, he can’t seem to find Andrew. He panics for about a split second before he sees that the four year old has made his way over to where he and Stiles are sitting with Erica.

He walks over to Stiles, holding his arms out for Stiles to pick him up and put him on his lap. The child immediately wraps his arms around Stiles’ neck, burrowing his face in his neck and hugging him tight.

“Hey baby, you don’t want to play anymore?” Stiles asks him, while stroking his head.

“Uh uh,” he mumbles, burrowing deeper into Stiles. 

They don’t push him. Derek’s learned to pick his battles when trying to get Andrew to socialize. They thought that his separation anxiety would dissipate more as he got older, and it has to a degree. He used to never want to leave Derek or Stiles’ arms, always sticking to them whenever they went out. Now, he usually is able to go out and play with the other kids, but it seems that that social energy has a pretty low threshold, and he usually finds them at some point anyway. 

“Hey Buddy! I heard you and Claudia are starting preschool soon! That’s so exciting!” Erica says to Andrew, trying to get him to lighten up a bit. 

Stiles has been homeschooling the kids until now, not finding a need to send them out to nursery school really. But they realized after taking the kids to the pediatrician lately that Derek’s professor job at BHU gave them pretty shitty medical benefits. So, their solution was for Stiles to find a full-time job, instead of freelancing.

All three kids are at an age where they can go to school for the full day. Claudia’s been ecstatic. She’s pretty much a social butterfly and is very good at making new friends. 

Andrew, on the other hand, hasn’t been too happy about it. Derek hopes the fact that he’ll be with Claudia will help him out, but she usually makes friends quickly. 

Andrew has a hard time keeping up.

In response to Erica, Andrew just hugs Stiles tighter. Stiles gives him a big kiss on the head and rubs his back soothingly.

Derek feels a warm hand on his shoulder.

“Hey Der, you have a minute to talk?” He looks up to see Laura, smiling at him. 

He nods, ruffling Andrew’s hair as we he walks with her to another corner of the room. 

Anyone with were-ears could listen at any point, but he knows they won’t. They’ve always made a point to respect each other’s privacy, since it’s pretty rude to eavesdrop on someone else’s conversation.

“What’s up?” He asks, sitting down with her. He can’t gauge exactly what her expression is. She seems wary, but also happy.

Sometimes, he thinks he knows exactly how to read Laura’s expressions. The way her eyebrow slightly raises when she’s nervous, or the way she absently runs her   
hand through her hair when’s deep in thought. 

It’s for that reason that he thinks Laura puts such an effort in controlling her expressions in front of Derek when she needs to. Derek would know, he does the same thing with Stiles. The extent to how well Stiles knows him doesn’t scare him anymore, but it damn sure used to.

“I got a job offer,” She says simply, a hint of a grin sneaking into her expression.

“That’s amazing, Laur! Why would you be nervous to tell me that?” He feels like he’s going to explode with pride. Laura has always done her best to work with what she had. She had Talia so young, it took her a few years to get back on her feet, but she found a great job doing the bookkeeping for a law firm, which eventually led to her becoming a paralegal for the firm.

And now it seems like that hard work has finally paid off. 

She pauses, trying to figure out the right words. 

“Jesus Laura, is the job murdering bunnies?”

She laughs humorlessly. And then, she does something Derek rarely sees her do. She opens her emotions completely.

“It’s in New York,” 

And there it is, the catch. Derek sees it now, the guilt starting to overwhelm the excitement. He wonders for a second what that means, and pales. If Laura left to New York, that would make him the Alpha. 

“Oh,” He says dumbly. 

Derek knows Laura. He knows that if she’s telling him, it’s because she’s already made up her mind. 

She must have known this for a while. Derek thinks back to the past few weeks. His body’s been aching a lot lately, and he’s been feeling an overall restless sensation for a while. Stiles had joked that he was just getting old, but Derek knows now what it means. He’s becoming an alpha. 

It’s happening gradually, because Laura’s already decided to go.

Being the Alpha hasn’t been something even remotely on his mind. He’s always been comfortable with his beta status, and having his big sister be in charge. But he knows Laura’s never really wanted to be alpha either. 

He thinks about what being the Alpha would mean. Pack politics, extra strength, keener senses. He’d have to represent the Hale territory, and visit neighboring packs. 

“Laura, you should take it,” He tells her, frightened at the implication of his words.

“Derek, will you be ok? I know you never wanted to be the Alpha,” He sees the concern in her eyes, and immediately feels guilty.

“Laura, this is everything you’ve been working for. You deserve this. Don’t worry about me, I’ll get over it,” He tries to convey how much he means it. No matter how   
unqualified he is for the part, that’s his problem, not Laura’s. 

“Talia’s going to freak,” She responds, glancing over at her teenage daughter. 

“She won’t be happy, but she’ll get over it. You raised a good one,” He reassures her, rubbing her shoulder. 

“We raised a good one. I couldn’t have done any of it without you, Der. You’ve been there with me every step of the way with her,” He hears the worry in her voice, and   
stops her before she goes any further.

“Laura, I may have helped, but you raised that baby girl. You paid the bills, built a career, and were still the most attentive and caring Mom all on your own,”

She gives him a grateful look, taking his hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. 

“When are you going?” He asks her. He wants to hope that she’ll at least wait for the year to finish, but he knows that isn’t the case. He wouldn’t already be feeling the powers if it would be so far away. 

“Six weeks. I’m hoping I can already transfer all the power to you by next full moon, and we can transition with the pack together. Are you sure you’re okay with this?” She adds, trying to search his face. 

“Laura, we both knew you never wanted to be alpha,” He’s honest with her, because he knows she would be honest with him. They grew up thinking their mother would be there alpha forever, and before they could grow out of that childish thought, most of their family was killed in the fire, leaving seventeen-year-old Laura in charge. But before that, Laura used to say all the time that she was going to move to Manhattan and start her life as some big-time career girl. 

Derek had always hoped that she was joking, but he knows deep down that he always knew she’d eventually make that a reality. 

“Papa!” Claudia comes running over, tugging on his pants. Her curly hair is flowing wildly, and Derek groans when he thinks about the screams when they attempt to brush it out later. He and Stiles always makes sure she at least starts her day with her long hair put up, but no matter what she always manages to tug it down. Derek suggested they get it cut really short, but Stiles acted scandalized at the thought. 

“Papa! Aunt Laura! Me and Riley have a show! Come watch!” Derek looks over and sees that Riley, Kai, and Parker have assembled some sort of stage in the play area. 

He exchanges a defeated look with Laura and allows his daughter to take his hand and guide him. 

“Great, can you take Andrew? My back is killing me,” Stiles asks him when he gets there. He takes Andrew from Stiles, who immediately resumes his koala-like hold on his Papa. 

“Hey Pup, why don’t you go and join your friends?” He asks his son, who’s turned his head so he can watch the rest of the kids play. 

“I don’t wanna be in a show,” He says quietly. Derek doesn’t argue with him, since he knows he’d pretty much feel the same way. Laura used to drag him along to play with her all the time when they were younger. He definitely understands what it’s like to have such a spirited sister. 

“We need Caleb!” Claudia shouts, running to Talia and taking Caleb by the hand. 

“Why do you need Caleb?” Stiles asks, sounding scared for the answer. 

“He’s our dragon!” Claudia responds like it’s obvious. Caleb smiles, letting out a roar. 

“This cannot go well,” Stiles says under his breath to Derek. 

And it doesn’t. When the rest of the pack head back to Laura’s for the night, Stiles and Derek stay behind to sweep up the sugar that was thrown across the shop.

Xxx

“Daddy?” Caleb’s eyes are wide as Stiles tucks him and Charlotte into bed together. Charlotte’s already asleep, but Caleb seems to be trying to fight it. 

“Ya baby?” 

“Why I go sleep?” The grave curiosity almost seems humorous coming from a sleepy toddler. 

“So that you can get strong and grow,” He answers him. 

“YOU grow?” He asks in an accusing way. Stiles laughs. The kid is too smart for his own good.

“Not a lot anymore. But I do need sleep to get strong,” 

Caleb nods solemnly, accepting this answer. In a few more seconds, the toddler has nodded off completely. 

Stiles grins, looking over at the bed with Claudia, Andrew, Kai, Parker, and Riley to check on them. The kids have formed their own pack pile, and every month it doesn’t get any less adorable. He notices that Andrew is completely sandwiched between Kai and Parker, and smiles. Andrew might be shy, but thank goodness he’s found comfort in his friends. 

He leaves the kids’ room, heading over to his and Derek’s. 

“The kids are down for the night,” He tells his husband as he enters the room. Derek looks up from the papers he’s been grading, smiling at Stiles. Stiles’ heart stutters, taking in the sight of his gorgeous husband in pajamas, freshly showered. 

Derek reaches his hand out, pulling Stiles down on the bed. Stiles laughs, while Derek immediately flips them over and looms over Stiles, kissing him. 

“I’m crushing your papers,” He says breathlessly against Derek’s lips. Derek nuzzles his nose, settling between Stiles legs and grinding down. 

“Worth it, they’re all garbage anyway,” Stiles feels his growing erection, and his head is buzzing with the Derek’s warm weight pinning him down and how good he smells and how he really wants to lick every inch of his body, but he takes a deep breath instead. 

“Hold on there, partner. I need to freshen up first. Why don’t you finish up with this apparent garbage, and we can resume this in about ten minutes?” 

Derek huffs, burying his face in Stiles’ neck and sucks a hickey there, making Stiles groan. He licks and sucks, grazing his teeth against Stiles’ skin and marking him thoroughly. All the while he runs his hand down Stiles’ stomach, his touch feather light and giving Stiles goosebumps. 

“Make it eight,” He mutters against his neck, and rolls off of him expertly. 

“Aye-Aye, captain” He salutes. Derek rolls his eyes. 

Seven and a half minutes later, Stiles comes out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. He stands there for a minute, waiting for Derek to notice his irresistible sexiness, but Derek is laying on the bed and staring at the ceiling, completely oblivious. He seems to be lost in some sort of deep contemplation.

“Okay, what did you and Laura talk about earlier?” He asks with a suspicious tone. 

Derek’s head snaps up at the mention of Laura. “What? Why do you ask that?” 

Stiles snorts. “Come on, Sourwolf. You’ve been acting weird all night, and I’ve been standing here bare-assed naked for five minutes and you haven’t even noticed,” 

“You have a towel on,” Derek replies weakly, though he reaches out to Stiles, pulling him in once again and trying to rip the towel off.

“Oh no, Derek. We are going to talk about what’s bugging you. After that, we can do the sex,” It pains him to turn down sex with Derek, but he really did want to know   
what was bothering him. He sits on Derek’s lap, his husband pulls his legs up so that Stiles can lean back against them.

Derek sighs, defeated. He puts his arm around Stiles’ leg and nuzzles his knee, whispering; “Laura got a job offer in New York,”   
It’s all he says, but it’s enough for Stiles. Comprehension dawns on him instantly. 

“Your muscle pains! And your SEVERE grouchiness!” He exclaims, flailing his arms out and leaning forward. 

“Hey, I haven’t been grouchy,” Derek frowns adorably. He turns his head up to look at Stiles, and his expression is so similar to Andrew’s when he’s grumpy, that Stiles almost loses his train of thought. Almost. 

“Dude, you told me to crunch quieter last night,” 

“I had a headache and needed to grade papers! You were crunching on those pretzels really loudly,” He responds defensively.   
Stiles rolls his eyes, “Der, you had a headache? When was the last time you even sneezed?” 

Derek lets out a frustrated growl, “Okay, whatever. The point is that the pack is totally fucked,” He leans back, letting his head rest against the headboard and closes his eyes. 

Of course, this is where Derek’s mind would go. Stiles’ heart almost breaks at how sad he looks. 

“Derek,” He says. He uses one hand to cradle Derek’s face, his thumb stroking his husband’s lips fondly. His other hand finds Derek’s neck, caressing the back of his   
neck securely. 

Derek doesn’t answer, just huffs sadly. 

“Derek, baby, look at me please,” Stiles waits for Derek to open his beautiful eyes, and holds his gaze steadily. His husband places both his hands on Stiles’ hips, his grip so tight it’s as though Stiles is keeping him rooted. Stiles inches closer, squaring Derek in with his knees behind his husband’s shoulders. 

“Derek Hale, you are going to be an amazing Alpha. You are kind, passionate, caring, loyal, attentive, and headstrong. You are everything this pack needs, and this pack will thrive with you as their leader,” He holds Derek’s gaze the entire time, making sure he hears every word. 

“I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing,” He whispers, barely audible. 

Stiles sighs again, "That's okay, Derek. We'll figure it out, learn by doing,"

"We?" Derek asks weakly.

Stiles smiles sweetly, "Of course, Sourwolf. Did you think you were doing this alone?"

Derek whines, "Politics, Stiles. It took me three years to learn how to communicate with you. How am I supposed to lead pack politics?"

Stiles chuckles lightly. "We'll work on it. Laura will teach you what you need to know about surrounding packs. You've been Laura's second for years, you've been going with her to tons of meetings. Give yourself some credit, Der,"

Derek stays silent, so Stiles goes on, "Remember when I was pregnant with the twins? We were the same way. Scared and clueless. But we got our shit together, and those kids are pretty awesome, if I do say so myself,"

Derek nudges Stiles' nose with his own, "It's because you're an amazing Dad. I wouldn't be anywhere without you,"

"Goes both ways, buddy. You're my person. We always work together, and we'll work together now to make sure you're the best damn Alpha this world has ever known,"

Derek presses his forehead against Stiles', inhaling his scent. "I love you so much. You make me better, everyday."

"I love you too, Der. And you make me better too,"

Instead of responding with words, Derek brings Stiles closer, kissing him with an urgent intensity. Stiles responds immediately, licking his way into Derek's mouth and chasing the taste of his husband. He keeps one hand on Derek's neck, and lets the other wander down his torso, until he reaches the edge of Derek's shirt, and slips his hand inside.

Meanwhile, Derek has been running his hands down Stiles' thighs, and pushes forward until Stiles is on his back. Stiles feels Derek edge lower down Stiles body, until he's kissing and sucking the inside of his left thigh, then his right. Stiles groans. He loves it when Derek pays attention there, and Derek knows it. Derek sits back on the bed, pulling Stiles legs with him until he's facing Stiles' left knee. He kisses the inside of there too, and then the right as well.

All the while, Stiles has been laying back with his eyes closed, letting Derek have his way with him. He lets himself get lost in the feeling of Derek's tongue gliding across his skin. He feels like he could recognize Derek's touch at any point in time. They've become so attuned to each other, their bodies move together with such a keen familiarity. 

Derek lets his tongue travel up Stiles' body, kissing his way up Stiles' flanks, throat, neck, and then ravages Stiles mouth. Stiles feels his whole body heat up, responding instantly to Derek's ministrations. Stiles thinks back to the beginning of their relationship, when they were still keeping things PG-13 because Stiles was young and a virgin and Derek didn't want to rush things. They had spent hours upon hours of just kissing, and sometimes Stiles wonders how on earth they could have survived that, but he remembers now. The sinful way Derek's tongue plays with his own, and the soft press of his lips can make Stiles' brain go offline in .2 seconds.

It's also why they only waited two weeks before giving in to fucking each other senseless.

He's completely naked now, having let the towel he was wearing fall off. Derek has the audacity to still be wearing sweatpants, and Stiles uses his feet to try and tug them off, all grace be gone.

It happens more often than one would think. Derek will be really intense, kissing Stiles like this is their last time ever having sex, and Stiles will undoubtedly ruin the moment with his awkward flailing. Though Derek never seems to mind too much.

This time, though, Derek doesn't give him that cocky smirk he usually does when Stiles gets awkward. Derek is still staring at him intensely, making the act of taking off his sweatpants a matter of grave importance. Stiles whines when he pulls away to take his shirt off, but is quickly appeased when he comes right back in, mouthing at his nipples now. He wraps his legs around Derek's waist, cradling him there.

Stiles runs his hands down Derek's back, feeling the hard muscle on his toned body as he lets his teeth lightly graze Stiles' nipple, getting Stiles to make a very manly noise.

Derek removes his hands from where they were previously feeling up Stiles' legs and reaches over for their lube.

"Oh thank god, I was wondering if you were ever getting around to my ass," He says inelegantly. Derek chuckles, but still doesn't lose that burning look.

If it weren't so sexy, it would be comical the way Derek holds his gaze as he preps him. Derek is as thorough as ever, his fingers working their magic as Stiles writhes on the mattress, squeezing Derek's ass in encouragement. Minutes later, Derek is pushing into Stiles, and begins fucking him in earnest.

Stiles pants, making lewd noises and Derek moves in him relentlessly. Derek is clutching one of his thighs, and is running his other hand through Stiles' hair, their foreheads pressed together. Derek is fucking him like he's trying to make a point, with some sort of message.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," He keeps murmuring, moving his lips to Stiles' neck and nuzzling there. 

He's pounding into Stiles' prostate over and over again, and that burning feeling in Stiles keeps building, until he finally comes, clutching onto Derek even tighter as he does.

It only takes a few more thrusts for Derek to come after that, and then they're both laying there, breathing heavily. Silently, Derek gets up, finds a wet washcloth and cleans them up quickly. He tosses Stiles a pair of sweats as he puts his own back on, in case one of the kids (mainly Andrew) comes in their room in the morning.

Derek gets back in bed with Stiles, and allows Stiles to spoon him from behind. Stiles wraps his arms around Derek's waist, tucking his knees behind Derek's and kissing the back of his neck.

"I love you too, Sourwolf. It's going to be ok," Is the last thing Stiles says to Derek, before they both pass out.

xxx

Papa, Andrew is hogging all the colors," Claudia whines from where she’s sprawled out on the floor.

"Am not! I left you lots of colors," Andrew says from his own spot, not looking up from his drawing.  
"Do I need to separate the colors, since you guys can't share?" Stiles asks in a warning tone. 

"No" They both cry out in unison, though Stiles catches Claudia sticking her tongue out at Andrew.

The kids are all starting school tomorrow, and for whatever reason unknown to Derek, Stiles was possessed by the wild idea that they needed to get together and do an art project one last time before they start school. As if they won’t be doing this kind of thing every day in school.

They were all in their pajamas, Stiles and Derek having gotten the kids showered and ready for bed before they started their activity. It was going well, for about ten minutes. Of course, nothing is ever simple with young children. 

"Papa! Look! Colors!" Caleb squeals from where he’s sitting between Derek's legs on the ground, working on his own project. Stiles and Derek both feel it safe for Caleb to be kept close when venturing into art projects.

"Yeah baby, those are really nice colors," Derek's voice sounds placating, so Stiles looks over to see what Caleb has been drawing.

He almost laughs out loud at what he sees. While Claudia and Andrew have been drawing their own masterpieces, Caleb seems to only have been interested in blending various colors together to see what new colors he can make. There are scattered blotches all over his paper.

He looks over at Andrew sitting next to him. The kid has been getting gradually quieter all day today, and it doesn't take a genius to know why that is.

"What are you drawing, baby?" He sees a lot of figures drawn,

Andrew seems to be hyper focused, and doesn't look up when he replies,

"That's me, Kai, and Parker," he points at the three biggest figures, holding hands in the middle.

"This is Claudie and Riley," He points to two figure holding hands to the side, "They don't get to be in the middle, because they wouldn't let me play with them,"

"Claudia Evelyn," Stiles scolds,

"No boys allowed!" Claudia responds.

"Claudia, that's not nice. Andrew always lets you play with him and his friends," Derek tells her.

"We were playing with my dolls! Boys don't like dolls!" She says, barely defensively.

"I like dolls," Andrew murmurs, still looking down on his own project. 

Stiles sighs. Are they really going to send their kids to preschool, where these moronic gender norms are pushed even more?

"Anyone can like dolls. I love playing with them," Stiles tells her. Derek runs his hand through her hair affectionately, trying not to make this seem like she's in trouble.

Andrew turns his head up at that one, gaping at his parents.

"Really?" Claudia asks, amazed at the sheer thought.

"Me too," Derek adds, if only to reinforce the fact that men can like dolls too.

"Then let’s play together!" Is Claudia's response, and it’s so pure and innocent that Stiles can only smile at her.

Claudia and Andrew are twins, but they couldn't be more polar opposites. Where Andrew is quiet, reserved, and shy, Claudia is always talking, never holding back, and all around extroverted to the extreme. She's always approaching strangers in the park and asking new kids to play with her. She has a big heart but can sort of be a show stealer to her twin brother. Not that Andrew minds, in Stiles' opinion at least.

They stay like that for a while, all spread out on the floor in the living room, coloring onto the cardboard boxes that Derek had set up so that there wasn't a mess. Derek is the one who notices it's time for bed. 

He has a sleeping Caleb in his arms, and Stiles is too engrossed in his own picture to really notice anything. Derek silently laughs, seeing the identical looks of concentration on Claudia and Stiles' faces.

"Okay pups, time for bed," Derek announces, and they all look up at that, confused. Stiles notices the time on the clock, and immediately shakes his mind clear.

"Papa's right! Bedtime! We have such a big day tomorrow," He keeps his voice upbeat, but Derek notices Andrew's sour expression.

It doesn't take long for them to get to bed, Caleb already having passed out in Derek's arms and the kids already having showered. Stiles supervises the teeth brushing, and brings the twins into their room, mindful of the sleeping Caleb in his next door. He sighs, they really do need to find a bigger place, they've both just been so busy it's been difficult to really focus on buying a house. But Stiles knows they can’t last much longer, even if their apartment is pretty decently sized.

"Daddy," Andrew clutches Stiles' arm, pulling him down to where Stiles had already kissed him goodnight and was trying to pull away gently.

"Daddy, why do I have to go to school," He says quietly, big green eyes looking at him.

"Because, baby, school is an amazing place where you can learn new things every day and make new friends, and I want you to have that experience,"

"I already have friends," He says it like he would say 'I already had lunch' or 'My shoes are already on my feet'.

"Sometimes it's nice to make more friends,"

"Why can't Parker be with me and Kai?"

"Because Parker's birthday is lot earlier to you and Kai, so he's in a different class. But maybe you'll see each other during recess?"

"When do I get to go home?"

"Me or Papa will come to pick you up at 3 o'clock,"

"Okay," A beat passes, and Stiles thinks that's the end of the Questions when-

"Can I sleep with you and Papa tonight?" His voice is barely hopeful, knowing the answer.  
Stiles takes a deep breath, leaning in and giving his son a smothering kiss.

"Baby, remember what we talked about? It isn't good for you to keep sleeping in our bed,"  
He and Derek have spoken about this at length, both with each other and with the kids. They don't want to get into bed-sharing habits, especially with Andrew, who already has attachment issues.

"Hmph" He grunts, in a way that has Stiles doing a double take to make sure this isn't actually a de-aged Derek.

After putting the kids to sleep, Stiles heads to the living room area, finding Derek on the couch with two bottles of wine open (one of them infused with wolfsbane,) and two glasses already poured.

"You heard?" He asks, knowing the answer.

"I heard," Derek confirms, handing Stiles a glass.

"Tomorrow's going to be shit," Stiles states, leaning back on the couch and into Derek. Derek wraps his arm around Stiles' shoulders, rubbing his hand in soothing patterns.

"The shittiest,"

"The shittiest day to ever shit on us."

"An absolute shitfest,"

"Are we bad parents for not letting Andrew sleep with us?"

Derek pauses. "No. He has enough separation anxiety as it is. It would only be harming his development,"

"Scott said he and Kira let Kai sleep with them,"

"Andrew isn't Kai. Anyway, we agreed we wouldn't compare our parenting to anyone else's,"

Stiles sighs, "I know. I just feel like he's such a good kid, and he never asks for anything except to stay close to us,"

Derek runs his hand through Stiles' hair. "You're a great Dad," He buries his nose in Stiles' hair, inhaling his scent.

Stiles doesn't reply, he just lays back and lets his husband run his hand through his hair therapeutically. 

He pulls his legs up on the couch, snuggling into Derek and letting Derek hug him tighter.

"Hey, isn't it weird that we procreated?"

Derek snorts, "You procreated. I'm positive you spawned three mini clones of yourself all on your own."

"Hey! Those twins have way more of you in them than me," Stiles says. He sounds defensive when he says it, but he really means it in a sincere way. He sees more of Derek in Andrew every day, and it makes his heart just about explode with happiness.

Derek leans his head in, kissing the edge of Stiles' jaw softly. As he lets his lips gently trace Stiles' jaw and neck, he mutters "They all have these beautiful beauty marks. And your smile, and your laugh..."

"Those twins have your eyes. Claudia has your bone structure. Andrew has your complexion and burliness,"

They have this argument all the time. Stiles thinks the kids have more of Derek in them, Derek thinks the   
kids are all exactly like Stiles. They don't ever really get anywhere.

Stiles reaches his hand up, taking Derek's face away from kissing his neck and pulling him up to look him in those beautiful eyes.

"We made babies," He says, incredulously. Sometimes, he still can't believe that he and Derek actually got their shit together and are parents now.

"We made babies," Derek repeats. They're holding hands now, the familiar feel of Derek's warm hand calming Stiles.

"We have children. Three babies,"

"Two of them aren't such babies anymore," Derek says softly. Stiles lets out a scandalized noise.

"You shut your mouth. They are all babies. They will still be babies when they're fifty and you're busy wiping the drool off my chin,"

"Before you know it they'll be graduating college and getting careers and leaving us," Derek says wistfully.

Stiles smiles at his husband, "We're raising children together,"

"Yes, we are,"

"That's nuts. You used to hate me,"

Derek rolls his eyes, "I never hated you. You just annoyed me. Still do,"

Stiles pokes him fondly, "And now you've grown humans inside me,"

Derek groans, "Why do you have to say it like that?"

"The miracle of life, Sourwolf! Come on, you are so turned on by planting humans inside me," He let his hand trails down Derek's stomach, rubbing circles on his abdomen and kissing his neck.

"How about we move this to the bedroom, before we scar one of our kids for life?" Derek asks, ignoring Stiles' statement. But Stiles can see the telling blush on Derek's cheeks.

He gets up first, reaching his hand out for Derek to take. Derek leads the way to their room, Stiles trailing behind until Derek stops short, Stiles running into his back.

"Der, what the-"

"Shh!" Derek exclaims, shoving a hand over Stiles' mouth and effectively silencing him.

Stiles peers over his shoulder to see what he stopped for, and his heart almost stopped at what he found.

Stiles and Derek had been adamant about setting a limit, and not letting Andrew sleep in their bed. It seems as though Andrew's solution was to get as close as possible, though.

All three of their kids were sleeping on the floor outside their door, blankets piled around them to create a sleeping space. It looks like Andrew had gotten there first, huddled closest to the door. Caleb must have heard Andrew, and had climbed out of his crib to follow his brother (Crib climbing! Can this child have no bounds?) Lastly, Claudia must have heard the commotion, because she was curled around Caleb, who was curled around Andrew.

How it was that they kids all heard each other, but Derek didn't hear them, Stiles doesn't know.

It was the most adorable sight to see, and Stiles feels like his heart is going to explode from cuteness.  
Stiles reaches for his phone, but it looks as though Derek is one step ahead of him, because he was already snapping a picture.

They step over their children, tip-toeing into their room and making sure to close the door quietly. 

"Tomorrow's going to be shit," Derek says, once they both are in bed. Stiles couldn't agree more.

xxx

"Riley said her class has a special star every month," Claudia said matter-of-factly from her seat in the car.

"Wow," Stiles replies, not trying to dwell too much on school for Andrew's sake. But Claudia persists;

"I'm going to be the star every month," She declares. The confidence in her voice makes Stiles swell with   
happiness, but also worry for Andrew. He's thinking they should have requested separate classes for the two.

"You don't want to let one of the other kids be the star one month? What about Andrew?"

"I don't want to be the stupid star," Andrew mumbles.

Stiles sighs, focusing on the road and turning up the kid's music. Derek got the lucky end of the deal, he's taking Caleb to nursery school since it's right around the corner from his college. Stiles on the other hand, is tasked with taking the twins. Andrew has been sulking all morning, his expression varying between anxiety and grumpiness. Stiles heart truly breaks for the poor kid, but he has to stay strong. Andrew needs to go to school.

It's lucky that they live in Beacon Hills, beacon to the supernatural. It allows them to send their young children to school without worrying about them wolfing out or giving anything away. Both schools they chose to send their kids to had supernatural teacher and are known throughout the community as the place to send your shifter babies.

Stiles pulls into the school parking lot and looks around at the others parents and kids after he parks. He sighs, barely recognizing anyone. His and Derek's social circles are pretty limited to the pack, which probably isn't too healthy. Huh, maybe the kids won’t be the only ones meeting new friends?

"Ok Pups, let’s go!" He says with forced cheerfulness, hoping the excitement that buzzed around them would catch on. He reminds himself of the protocol that he and Derek went over the night before. Go in, drop the kids off, and leave as quickly as possible. No lingering at all.

He takes both their hands, and is simultaneously dragged forward and backward from his daughter and son. He sighs, trudging towards the school, urging Andrew to walk with them.

Finally, after Stiles misreading the classroom number and getting lost, they get to the right room. He's greeted immediately by a cheerful older woman with a sweet smile.

"Hello! You must be Mr. Stillinski-Hale. And this must be Claudia and Andrew! We've been expecting you two!" She holds her hand out, pointing to two empty cubbies that were covered with welcome decorations.

"We love making new friends! Why don't you two go find your cubbies and get settled?" She asks the twins. Claudia beams, finding Kai waving at them. She gives Stiles a big hug, and runs over to Kai.

Stiles doesn't deny him feeling a little sad at how easy she was able to run off, but he sort of knew it would happen. Claudia is as independent as they come for children.

"Ok baby, go join your sister and Kai!" He rubbed Andrew's shoulder, meaning to step out quickly. But 

Andrew grabbed Stiles' hand with both hands.

"Daddy, I don't want to," He says in a small voice.

"I know, baby, but you're going to have so much fun with Claudia and Kai!" He urges him.

"No, no, no! I don't want to! Please don't leave me!" He pleads, now clutching onto Stiles' hips.

"It's ok, Andrew. I'll see you so soon! We can get ice cream after, how about that?" He's doing everything in his power to keep from breaking, but Andrew has this look on his face like Stiles is breaking his tiny heart.

"Please! Don't leave me! Daddy no, I love you!" Andrew cries, looking at Stiles like he is abandoning him.  
Stiles pulls him into the hallway to shield him from embarrassing himself in front of the other kids. The teacher follows them, her face showing that she's had experience with this.

"Come now, Andrew! We have a cubby with your name on it!" She tries pulling Andrew away, but he shrugs her off.

He's full on crying now, clutching onto Stiles with superhuman strength.

"Daddy, don't leave me here. Daddy I love you, don't leave me," He's trying to reason with him.

Stiles tries pulling his son's hands off, but Andrew holds onto with his vice grip.

Stiles feels it, he feels Andrew's heartbreak at the idea of his father abandoning him. And it doesn't matter that he knows it's not true, or that it's for Andrew's own good.

"No! NOOOO!" He's crying. The teacher succeeds in pulling him off this time, and Stiles remembers in that second that she's also a werewolf.

"I love you so much baby, please try to give it a shot for me," He says to him as he backs away. He can't believe himself, walking away from his crying son. But he does it, because he knows it's the right thing to do and that it's best for Andrew in the long run.

He walks quickly back to his car, barely making it before he bursts out into his own tears. He sits there in the driver's seat, sobbing hard and miserably, with the phantom feeling of his son clutching onto him lingering on his hips.

His heart is aching so much, and he can’t get the image of Andrew's hurt expression out of his mind.

Oh god, and Claudia just walking off like it didn't bother her at all. He doesn't know which hurts more.

He sits there for a solid ten minutes, just heaving away with all his sorrow. Once he finds himself composed enough, he calls Derek.

"Hey baby, how was drop off?" Derek's voice greets him. Generally

Stiles doesn't say anything, just lets out another sob. He feels his own hot tears running down his cheeks, and he's probably putting on quite the hsit show for the nosy parents around him to peer at, but he doesn't give a fuck at the moment. 

"Shit, that bad?" Derek asks,

"The look he gave me, as the teacher was ripping him from my arms and he was sobbing, is a look that will haunt my nightmares for as long as I live,"

"Okay, Stiles? How about you come by the school? I don't have a class until 11,"

Stiles nods, "Okay," He says in a small voice.

He manages to hold his shit together a bit more on the drive to Derek's, taking deep calming breaths. When he finally gets to Derek's office, he finds Derek sitting at his desk, grading papers. 

Derek looks up when he hears him, and immediately gets up to hug Stiles.

Stiles lets go in the comfort of Derek's arms, sobbing into his husband's neck like a damn child. He brings his hands up, running them through Derek's hair for comfort.

Derek pulls away first. "Sit down, I'll make you some tea," Bless him.

Stiles sits in Derek's chair, waiting as Derek runs to the staff room to make him a cup of tea, He comes back in, sitting on the desk across from Stiles, and handing him the tea. Stiles uses his free hand to grab Derek's leg, pulling the wheelie chair closer until he could rest his hand on his husband's thigh.

They sit in silence for a bit, Stiles inhaling the steam from his tea and relaxing, while Derek watches him intently.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Derek asks finally. Probably after he feels safe that Stiles isn't going to break down again and get snot all over his good pants.

"Not much to talk about. He started panicking when I tried to leave. Started to beg me not to leave. 

Jesus Derek, I felt like I was genuinely abandoning him, the way he was acting. The teacher literally had to rip him off my body. And he was crying so much, goddammit. I felt like such a piece of shit. Oh, and not to mention Claudia barely blinking an eye when she went in. And for that, I'm not actually upset, because I love how fierce and independent she is, but damn it still stung. And basically, I'm a blubbering mess and I'm not doing this ever again," He finished, staring at the ground as he spoke, His voice is cleared now, finally done with the tears.

Derek listens, in that special way where he makes every word Stiles says feel heard.

"You know you didn't abandon him, right? You brought your five year old son to school, you didn't leave him in the wilderness,"

Stiles nods slowly, letting Derek's words wash over his body. He isn't a terrible father, he needs to keep telling himself that. Derek keeps going.

"Andrew needs this. He needs to go to school and branch out,"

"I know, I know. I think we should keep an eye on how the two do together in the same class, though. 

He might do better without Claudia there,"

"Good call,"

Stiles finishes his tea, putting the mug down and grabbing both of Derek's legs, running his hands up his calves soothingly.

"How did it go with Caleb?"

Derek snorts, "He kept asking questions on the way there. 'Why do I go to daycare?' 'What do I do   
here?' I was a little nervous, but when we got there he just started asking the teacher a ton of questions too,"

Stiles chuckles. "What a weird kid,"

"Major weirdo," Derek agrees, looking at Stiles fondly.

Stiles takes a big sigh. "Will anything be easy, ever?"

Derek smiles, "Maybe they'll be easy teenagers,"

Stiles lets out a loud laugh at that one, "Yeah right. How have you been feeling, with the weird alpha mojo going on?" He asks.

"Still have headaches. But my sleep has been a little fucked up," Derek admits.

Stiles balks at that. "What? Since when?" He's sure he would hear if Derek is having nightmares again.

"It's not nightmares about the fire, or anything like that. I'll be dreaming normally, and this sense of dread will just wash over me, and then I'll gasp for air, and I wake up but I can’t open my eyes or move at all. And it'll just be me panicking for two minutes not being able to move, and then I'll actually wake up."

Stiles listens to the familiar symptoms, already knowing what's plaguing Derek,

"That, my dear husband, sounds a lot like sleep paralysis. It used to happen to me all the time in high school," He gets up, and takes both of Derek's hands.

Derek laces his fingers with Stiles, and Stiles rubs his thumbs in soothing patterns along his hands. 

"This whole Alpha business is giving you a lot of anxiety," Stiles says, not really asking.

Derek nods. "I keep thinking of my Mom. I want to be what she was, but she had this beauty and grace that just radiated around her. She....she knew how to use her words,"

"Hey! You can use words, just sparingly,"

Derek raises an eyebrow at him.

"I have this terrifying thought, that I'm going to mess it up and completely ruin my family's legacy. And I can’t bear that, because it’s all we have left,"

Stiles understands. It's the reason they chose to give the kids the last name 'Hale', instead of Stillinski-Hale. The Hale name and bloodline mean everything to Derek and his sisters.

"Babe, do you want to speak with a professional about this?" He asks Derek tentatively.

Derek's eyes meet his own, searching for something. "I don't know. I don't know anything anymore. I feel like at times, I've accepted it and am trying to move on. And then I get these insane night terrors, or whatever it is that paralyzes me, and it all just comes crashing back,"

"Ok baby, but if you feel like you want to talk to someone about it, that's ok, we'll find someone."

Derek nods, leaning in and kissing Stiles sweetly. "I have to get to my next class. I won’t have a break for a while."

"That's okay. I have my laptop on me, I'm going to work on finishing up for this last project here,"

"Any word yet from your interviews?" Derek asks gently.

Stiles shakes his head, "Not yet, but that's ok. I'll worry in another week,"

"Okay, I love you. See you later," Derek says, and heads out to his class.

The rest of the day passes smoothly. Derek pops in and out between classes, chatting with Stiles for the few minutes he can spare. Stiles works away at Derek's desk, trying to get as much work done as possible.

He doesn't remember falling asleep, but the next thing he knows, Derek is running his hand through his hair and kissing his cheek sweetly, bringing him out of a nap.

"Hey baby, it's time to go get the kids," He tells Stiles.

Stiles nods, shaking himself awake from the sudden lethargy. They walk out to the car together with their hands clasped, pulling on each other's strength.

The nursery teacher is looking a bit haggled when they arrive at Caleb's school. Caleb himself is beaming up at them from the corner he's sitting in, surrounded by building blocks. Stiles would smile back if he weren't so alarmed by the grease smeared all over his clothing and hair.

"You must be Caleb's parents," The teacher comes walking over, looking harried.

"Uh oh," Stiles whispers to Derek, nudging him with his hip. Derek elbows him back, keeping a serious face on for the teacher.

"Your son took apart the radiator and began playing with the parts before I could stop him. You're lucky   
it wasn't on. The grease wouldn't come out of the clothes. You'll be receiving a bill from the school." She tells them shortly, then walks away before either of them can respond.

They look over and find the radiator, indeed looking a bit mangled. They both take a collective sigh.

"Oh Caleb," Derek says exasperatedly to their toddler, who has waddled over to his Daddies, looking as wide eyed and innocent as ever.

"Cling clang!" He claps, smiling.

"Alright baby, let’s get you to the car without staining something," Stiles reaches his hand out, allowing his son to take it and follow them out. They stop when they get to their car.

"Der, we just got these new car seats after Claudia's glitter disaster," He hisses, trying not to sound distressed for Caleb's ears.

Stiles had a strong word with the parents who put glittery art supplies in a goody bag for four year olds. The word 'Disaster' was too soft a word, in his mind.

"Stiles, what do you want me to do?" Derek asks tightly, already sounding frustrated.

"Do you have a t-shirt?"

Derek's eyes widen, "Just the one I'm wearing under my dress shirt,"

Stiles makes an insistent motion with his hands.

"What about you?" Derek retorts.

Stiles points to the single tee he chose to wear on the hot day, "This is a vintage Captain America tee!"  
Derek huffs, grimacing. He unbuttons his dress shirt, rolling his eyes at Stiles' wolf whistling for the brief minute that he is shirtless.

"Aw come on, baby, put on a show!" Stiles grins at his husband.

Caleb, at this point, is laughing hysterically at his Papa.

"Papa! You naked!"

Derek frowns even deeper at his family, tossing his shirt at Stiles and quickly putting his dress shirt back on.

"Come on, little guy. Let’s get you covered up so we can buckle you in," Stiles pulls the shirt over the child, smiling at how it engulfs the tiny body.

"I wear Papa shirt!" Caleb squeals, giggling again.

"I now know what it's like being laughed at by a two year old you," Derek tells Stiles, who cackles maniacally.

They get him settled into his car seat, making sure his clothing wasn't touching any part of the car.

"Caleb, remember Papa and Daddy said you weren't allowed to play with things that aren't toys?" Stiles asks Caleb, once he's settled in.

"Cling clang not toy?" He asks, confused.

"No, it was not. You need to ask first before you play with things, okay?"

"Why cling clang not a toy?"

"Because it's dangerous and wasn't made to be played with," Derek explains. Pretty poorly, in Stiles opinion. But how do you actually and articulately explain what a toy is?

"You need to ask if something is a toy, Caleb. Then you can play with it," Stiles already knows this is going to come back and bite him in the ass, but at the moment it's the only thing he can think of to tell Caleb.

"Why?" The kid asks.

"Because if it's not a toy, then it can hurt you if you play with it,. And Papa and Daddy don't want you getting hurt," Derek responds.

Caleb, for his part, nods sagely at his parents. Stiles calls that a win.

It takes a full ten minutes to make into the preschool to get to the twins. Neither of them wanted to carry Caleb in that state, so they each took a hand and tried to walk him into the building as quickly as possible. That is, as quick as a two year old knows how to walk.

When they finally make it in, Claudia and Andrew are playing together with a few of the other kids. For the brief second that they don't notice Stiles or Derek, Stiles notes that Andrew is smiling, playing with his new friends. He's glad to see that Claudia is including him, and that he isn't hiding in a corner.

They look up simultaneously, probably scenting their parents at the same time.

Claudia grabs the hands of the other kids, dragging them over and practically shrieking.

"Look! This is my Papa and Daddy, and this is my little brother Caleb! He likes to make messes," She announces for her new friends, who both smile shyly.

Andrew doesn't hesitate to run over as well, and before Stiles knows it he's scooping his son of the ground in an all encompassing bear hug.

"You came back," Andrew says into his neck.

Stiles croaks out a wet laugh, "Of course I did baby,"

Andrew doesn't respond, he just reaches out and jumps into Derek's arms as well.

"My turn!" Claudia demands, and Stiles lifts her into his arms and gives her a big smooch.

They set the twins down. Stiles just about sobs when he sees how happy his kids are. It's what every parent wants for their kids. To be happy, healthy, and adjusted.

"Who wants to get some ice cream?" Derek asks them.

"And spoil our dinners!" Stiles adds.

"Yayyy!" Comes a collective cheer from their children.

"Ice cream is toy?" Caleb asks, followed by a resounding "No!".

xxx

They're pulling back into their driveway when they notice her.

"Talia!" Claudia shouts gleefully, quickly unbuckling herself and running towards her big cousin.  
Stiles and Derek exchange a look, quickly getting out of the car as well. Caleb pulls on Derek's hair as he unbuckles him from his car seat.

"Hair is toy, Papa?" Caleb asks. It's beyond Derek why is son chose now to be fascinated by Derek's hair.

"No, Caleb. Not a toy," Surprisingly, that works. Caleb withdraws his hands almost immediately.

Talia's sitting on the front steps of their apartment building, appearing both resilient and scared at the same time. Derek sighs, taking in her full sight. At fifteen, she's been resembling Laura more than ever. Sometimes, when he looks at her, Derek is taken back to when he was a kid, before his family was killed. he sees a teenage Laura, forcibly putting eye shadow on his face and pushing him into dirty laundry when he isn't looking. He remembers his brother Charlie, playing football with him and ganging up on Laura. He absently at Andrew's shoulders, who's middle name is Charles. For the Uncle he would never meet.

Laura was proud to say Talia barely looks like The Asshole that knocked her up and left her. She's right, Derek can assume, because the rebellious look Talia has on her face is 100 percent Laura Hale, teenage drama queen.

"Hey bee, what brings you to our humble home?" Stiles asks her, using his nickname for her. He takes Caleb from Derek, hiking the toddler up his hip. 

But Derek knows. He can guess, anyway. He also knows Stiles probably guessed too, from the sympathetic expression he had plastered on.

"Can I stay here tonight?" She asks, her voice low.

Derek looks over at his husband, and they share a quick but meaningful exchange.

"Sure thing, bee. We just came back from ice cream so you can help us manage the sugar highs and crashes. Here, you take this monkey here, my back hurts," Stiles hands Caleb to her, who gives her a big kiss on the cheek and a hug.

"Tal-Tal! I go to school!" He exclaims.

Derek smiles. Caleb has the best kisses and hugs.

"Papa! Can I show Talia my new Lego's?" Andrew asks, also excited to see his cousin.

"Sure, buddy. Talia, does your Mom know you're here?"

Hi niece blushes, "Uh, no." 

Derek sighs, "Okay then, how about you all go inside and I give her a call?"

"Do you have to?" Talia asks, sounding sheepish.

"Yes I do, bumble bee. She's probably starting to worry where you are,"

He nods to Stiles, who blows him a kiss and ushers the kids inside.

Laura picks up on the first ring.

"She's with you, isn't she?" Laura asks, sounding relieved.

"Yup. Found her sitting on our front steps. She's fine," He assures her.

"She's not fine. She was just told that in three weeks she would have to leave her family and friends, and move across the country to a big city. She hates me, and has every reason to,"

"Laura, she doesn't hate you. She just needs some time to process it. Teenagers are resilient, and Hales even more so,"

"She loves you guys so much. And those kids..." Laura's voice breaks.

"We'll video chat once a week. And we'll get together for the holidays. This ins't goodbye, Laura. And she's going to love living in the city, she's just like you,"

"I found a great apartment on the Upper West Side," Laura says weakly.

Derek grins. Laura really is fulfilling that dream of hers, living in Manhattan.

"Are you okay with her staying here tonight? We can take her to school tomorrow," Derek asks her.

"Yeah. I can drop off a few things for her that she'll need,"

"She packed a bag," Derek responds. Laura laughs.

"Well, at least it was a responsible way to run away,"

"She didn't run away. She just needs some space to think. Don't worry, I suspect Stiles already started to put her to work taking care of the kids,"

"Your husband is awesome,"

"Yeah, he is," Derek agrees. Because fuck it, Stiles is the fucking best. "Listen, Laura. Take the night to yourself. Open a bottle of wine and relax, we've got her,"

Laura sighs, "Thanks Der. That doesn't sound too bad. Have you been feeling the alpha pull anymore?"

They speak for a while after that. He thought about mentioning his fucked up sleeping but figured Laura had enough to deal with. When Derek finally makes his way back inside, he finds Talia sitting on the floor playing with the kids. Andrew is standing behind her and braiding her hair, while she plays dolls with Claudia and Caleb. Well, Caleb seems to be far more interested in Talia's phone, which he's playing a game on.

"Hey Tals, where's Uncle Stiles?" He asks her.

"He's taking a nap, he said to wake him at 5 for dinner," She responds.

"Ok. I would keep an eye on Caleb, you don't want him breaking that thing in some crazy way," Like dipping it in red paint, which is what he did with Derek's last phone. They now have total accident-proof cases for their phones.

He slips into their bedroom, where he finds Stiles passed out on their bed, dead to the world. Derek tries to be as silent as possible, but Stiles shifts when Derek gets into bed with him.

"Hey, Sourwolf. Everything good with Laura?" He asks sleepily, snuggling into Derek's side.

"Yeah, she's just worried over Talia," He cards his hand through his husbands hair. Claudia and Stiles acted the same way when they were sleepy, needing to snuggle into whatever they could find. It was both hilarious and adorable.

"You've been sleeping a lot lately," Derek remarks. This is already his second nap of the day.

"Yeah, I've just been so tired-" Stiles stops. He shoots out of bed, giving an alarmed look.

"What?" Derek asks, nervous at Stiles' expression. He has the same look on his face that he had that time they were five minutes away from the airport and he realized he left their passports on the kitchen counter. Boyd was their hero that day.

"We said you would carry the next one!" Stiles says, rushed and panicked.

His heart takes a leap, "You-You think?"

Stiles doesn't answer. Instead, he runs into their bathroom, but he doesn't lock the door. Derek follows him in, and finds that he's already on his knees ruffling through the cabinet.

"Aha!" He exclaims, finding a pregnancy test.

Four minutes later, they have their answer. They're sitting on the floor of the bathroom, Stiles laying his head in Derek's lap. Stiles and Derek both have a hand on Stiles' stomach, their hands touching ever so slightly.

Derek tries. He really tries not to be beaming with happiness, but he fails miserably.

"Wipe that smile off your face, Derek Hale!" Stiles says in an accusing tone.

Derek's smile falters a bit. "Are you upset?"

"Upset- Jesus Derek I'm not upset. I'm ecstatic. It's just- we just got those kids in school! And I have a job offer," Stiles gives Derek a serious look.

"Wait, what? Since when?"

"When you were talking to Laura. I got a call from that insurance firm," Stiles says softly.

"Ok, well they have paternity leave and all that shit, no?" Derek asks him. These places usually have decent benefits packages.

"Yeah, they do. I just, I thought maybe we'd wait a year. And we said you'd carry the next one!" He reminds Derek. And Derek has to concede that one. They did say that, and it wasn't even because Stiles didn't want to or anything like that. Derek was the one who wanted to have the experience of carrying a child.

"Ok, well it looks like life had other plans," Derek says softly, taking his husband's hand. He gets it, why Stiles is panicking. They didn't plan this. So he tries to make him feel as comfortable as possible.

"Yeah, I know," Stiles says quietly, rubbing his abdomen absently. He looks up at Derek with bright eyes, a smile creeping up his face. "Another baby!"

Derek doesn't want to ignore the other news, though. "Stiles, I'm so proud of you for getting that offer. You deserve it,"

Stiles smiles, "Fuck yeah. We can finally get decent dental insurance,"

"You can eat as much candy as you want,"

His grin is contagious, and Derek can't help beaming back. He knows it'll be tough, especially with Caleb in the picture, but it's also the most amazing news he has ever heard and can't possibly imagine being happier.

He cradles Stiles' face, looking down at the love of his life. "I know we have a long road ahead of us, but I am so fucking happy, and I love you so fucking much."

Stiles sits up, climbing over and straddling Derek's lap. "I'm going to have my pregnancy ass again," Even as he says the words, Derek is reaching down and squeezing Stiles, pressing their groins close together.  
"Mhhm, you know I love your pregnancy ass," He murmurs in Stiles' neck, licking and sucking at his favorite spot.

Stiles rocks down against Derek, and Derek outright groans at the feeling. His head thumps back against the wall he's leaning against, and Stiles chuckles.

"Well I guess birth control was a waste of money," Derek says.

"It's probably your Alpha powers giving you super sperm or some shit," Stiles says in a casual tone.

Derek snorts. "I don't think that's a thing,"

"Oh god, what if we have another Caleb?" Stiles asks, laughing out loud.

"I don't think there can ever be another Caleb." He responds truthfully. Midway through his terrible two's, Derek is positive no kid will be like Caleb. He hopes so, at least.

"We have to haul ass in getting a new place,"

That, Derek can't argue with. There is no way in hell they are staying in this apartment with another kid on the way. The plan was to originally move out before Caleb was born, but shit got busy and here they are.

"I really like that place on Hazel," It has a yard that leads into the preserve, and enough space for four kids.

"You think we should make an offer?"

"Yeah, lets do it today," He says with finality. They are buying a house, dammit.

He gives Stiles ass another squeeze, and slips one hand inside his jeans, slipping a finger inside his crack.

Stiles moans, grinding down on Derek and running a hand up his chest, underneath his shirt.

"Does buying a house turn you on, Mr. Hale?" Stiles whispers devilishly, nibbling on his ear.

Derek doesn't answer, instead he rubs his finger along Stiles' tight rim, gripping his inner thigh with his other hand.

"Mortgage rates. Home owner's insurance. Crown molding finishes,"

"Keep going and neither of us are going to finish." Derek warns. Unfortunately, Stiles knows it's an empty threat.  
xxx

Later that night, when Stiles is putting the kids to sleep, Derek is sitting on the couch with Talia snuggled up next to him.

"So, Bee. What happened?" He asks gently.

She sighs. "I know you know that we're moving, Mom told me,"

Derek nods, "How are you feeling about that?" He puts an arm around her, rubbing her shoulders. 

"I mean, I guess I'm happy that Mom is following her dream. I just wish it wasn't so far away,"

"New York is very far, and you don't have that much time to process," He ascertains. The number one thing he's learned by helping with Talia, is that teenagers need validation.

"Yeah, I guess so. But like, I don't know if I care so much about that. I'm gonna miss my friends, sure. But I think mostly I'll just miss you guys," She puts her head on his shoulder.

"Baby, you know we'll see each other all the time. We'll video chat, and spend every holiday together," He talks into her hair, hugging her tight.

"They're going to grow up without me, and forget about me," Her voice cracks.

"They will do no such thing. Sure, it'll be hard to see you less often, but we'll adjust, find a new normal."

"I just wish she'd asked me first, you know? I get that she's the Mom, but it's my life too,"

"Would you have said no, if she had asked?"

"No! I just, maybe I'd want to be part of the decision?"

"Right, to feel like you have a say,"

"Yeah, exactly.”  
"Tals, you know your Mom has dedicated her life to making things good for you,"

She nods, "I know! I know it's selfish to be upset. This is the first time we are really doing something for her. I get it, but I'm still sad,"

"It's not selfish to be sad, Bee. You can be happy and sad at the same time,"

"Yeah?" She asks in a small voice.

"Yeah." He affirms.

"Thanks, Uncle Derek,"

He kisses her on the head, rubbing her shoulders.

xxx

"Daddy, this a toy?" Stiles looked up from where he and Scott were playing video games. Caleb was holding up some portable clip on fan he must have found, already looking like he wanted to tear it apart and try to put it back together. 

"No, baby, not a toy. Why don't you go play with the others?" He says patiently, taking the fan from his kid and pointing him towards to others.

Caleb nods, waddling off to follow his big siblings. The poor kid, Stiles thinks. It's tough not having anyone his age to play with. Lydia is the only one with a kid Stiles' age. Her daughter, Charlotte, and Caleb happen to play really well together, but tonight it's just the McCalls with them, having Saturday lunch together at their parents. They do this pretty often, so that the Sheriff and Melissa feel like they get to see their grandkids on a consistent basis.

"Dad! I told you that you can't leave these things laying around!" Stiles waved the fan at his dad.

"Son, I had that on a high shelf in the storage closet," His dad called back from where he was playing with Kai and Claudia. Melissa was at the table, coloring with Andrew.

"Not good enough!" He says back, but his dad just rolls his eyes rudely and gets back to the kids.

"Dude, where's Kira?" Scott asks, not even looking up from the television.

"I don't know, dude. Shouldn't you like, know where your wife is?"

"She went to lay down," Derek says, walking over and sitting with them on the couch.

"NO! Go away Caleb!" Claudia shouts, shoving at Caleb.

"Claudia Evelyn Hale! That is not how we speak to people. Do not shove your brother like that, he's smaller than you," Derek admonishes.

'He knocked my Legos down! He's so stupid and I don't want him playing with me!" She's shrieking now, Kai just sitting there awkwardly. Andrew, for his part, doesn't even look up form his own drawing. 

Everyone else is just watching silently, letting Derek and Stiles handle it.

"Claudia, you know he's little and doesn't mean it. You can't ban him from playing with you," Stiles tells her, but she doesn't seem like she wants to listen.

"I don't care! I'm not letting him play with me!" She stomps her foot, shoving at Caleb again, making the two year old fall on his backside. He starts to sniffle, and bless him, still gets up to play with his sister.

"Claudia Hale, if you push your brother one more time you are going to be in big trouble," Derek warns her in a stern voice, but Stiles can tell when a temper tantrum is coming, and oh boy is it coming now.

"No! No no no no! I don't want him playing with me!" She starts crying, and shoves Caleb again. This time, he starts to full on cry.

Stiles and Derek get up at the same time. Stiles runs to Caleb, scooping the toddler up as the water works start to fall. "Shh, it's okay, she doesn't mean it," He whispers to Caleb.

Claudia stands there with her arms folded, close to tears as well.

"Ok, that's it. Claudia, come upstairs with me. You're done playing," Derek says, walking over.

"No!" She says obstinately, but she knows she's in trouble.

"I'm not going to ask again. Get upstairs," Derek points up.

"No!" She shouts at Derek, stomping her foot again.

"Okay," Derek says, resigned. He picks her up, throwing her over his shoulder and carries her upstairs, Claudia crying now.

"She's tired," Stiles says once they hear a door shut upstairs. Presumably Derek lecturing Claudia and letting her cry it out. "They're getting adjusted to going to school full time," He's rubbing circles into Caleb's back, who's already stopped crying and is back to sniffling and rubbing his face in Stiles' neck. 

Everyone nods sympathetically.

"Hey, you boys want to go to the park?" The Sheriff asks the kids, who all nod enthusiastically. Smart man.

"Hey baby, you want to go with them?" Stiles says gently to Caleb.

"I can play?" He asks in a croaky voice, raising his head from Stiles' shoulder and effectively shattering the heart of everyone in the room.

"Yes you can," He sets the kid down, who over to his Grandpa and taking his hand.

"Thanks, Dad."

"No problem, kiddo. You kids just relax here," He bids them as Melissa packs a few things.

"Ugh, I'm beat," Stiles exclaims, flopping down on the carpet.

"I hear you, bro. Kids are exhausting," Scott says sympathetically, laying down next to Stiles on the floor.

At that moment, Kira comes sauntering out of the guest room, rubbing her eyes awake.

"Did I hear crying? Where's Kaito?" She asks, laying down by Stiles' other side on the floor.

"The crying was Claudia throwing a tantrum. Derek took her upstairs and our parents took the other kids out to the park," Stiles supplies, taking a deep sigh.

"Kids." Kira states.

"Kids," Scott says in a agreement.

"Hey, you two have no right to complain. You have one well behaved kid. Try dealing with three kids under the age of five," Stiles whines.

"Well..." Scott says, looking over at Kira. She blushes, grinning slyly.

"Shut the fuck up, are you pregnant?" Stiles exclaims.

Kira just smiles, nodding.

"Dude! So am I!"

"Dude! That's your fourth kid!" Scott says, a little too horrified for Stiles' liking.

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with wanting a big family," Stiles says defensively.

"You're right, Stiles," Kira says, shooting her husband a look. "Honestly, I admire you guys for being able to handle it all. I don't know how we would manage four kids,"

"Who says we manage?" Comes Derek's voice, walking down the stairs and collapsing on the ground with the rest of them.

"Hey Sourwolf, how's Claudia?"

"She's fine. I told her she needs to be there for five more minutes. She's pouting a lot but I think she understands she was in the wrong. Jesus, those tantrums kick the shit out of me,"

"Well, Stiles told us you're expecting another! Better get ready for more trouble!" Kira says.

"He did, did he?" Derek looks over at Stiles accusingly, raising an impressive eyebrow.

"With good reason! Kira's also pregnant!" Stiles says in his defense.

"Our kids better be best friends," Scott says.

"Dude, if our other kids are anything to go by, they'll be best friends within days,"

"Daddy?" Comes a small voice. They all look up to see Claudia walking down the stairs, sniffling and rubbing her eyes. She looks exhausted, Stiles thinks. He would give her a nap if he didn't think it meant she would be up all night. 

"I'm sorry I pushed Caleb,"

"That's okay baby. When he gets back with grandpa you'll say sorry to him, okay?"  
She nods.

"Claudia, come and snuggle with me! Uncle Scott misses you!" Scott says with a grin. She runs over jumps falls on top of them all, and they all lean in and kiss her, hugging her tight.

xxx

"Daddy, Parker says you and Aunt Erica aren't supposed to take naps during the day because grown-ups don't nap,"

Stiles creaks one eye open, shifting around from where he's sprawled out on the couch until he's facing his son. He's standing there with Parker, action figures in hand like they were in mid-play and suddenly realized their parents were napping on the couch.

"Really. Well Parker, I'll just let you know that Mommies and Daddies like to nap just as much as kids," Stiles says. Erica nods sleepily from where she's tucked in behind him.

Erica had brought Parker over for a play date with Andrew, since Boyd was out with Derek meeting local packs or some shit. Derek had dropped Caleb off at Lydia's for a playdate with Charlotte, so it was just them four at the house.

"Hey Pokes, why don't you and Andrew come lay with me and Uncle Stiles. We'll make a puppy pile," Erica says, reaching her arms out for Parker to climb over Stiles and lay on top of them. Andrew grins at Stiles' urging expression, and follows his friend until both kids are snuggling are laying on top of their parents. Stiles puts an arm around Andrew, rubbing his back. Erica does the same with Parker.

"This is silly," Parker giggles, but snuggles deeper into Erica.

"Nah, this is cozy," Stiles whispers.

"So, Aquaman, how's school going? I hear you just started!" Erica says to Andrew.

"It's okay," He says simply, ever the expressive one.

"Well there has to be at least one thing you don't like about it," Erica muses. Stiles shoots her a death look, but she just grins mischievously.

"There are two other kids names Andrew in the class," The boy concedes.

"Hey I didn't know that! How dare they steal your wonderful name," Stiles cries indignantly.

"They call be Andrew H, but sometimes it still makes me confused because they'll say Andrew A, and it sounds like H," Andrew continues.

"Huh, this cannot do. We must give you a new name," Erica declares.

"Yeah!" Parker says excitedly.

"Wait, we aren't just going to rename my son, right? The one that was named after his grandfather and uncle that he would never meet?" Stiles asks in a warning tone, meant for Erica. She shows a look of understanding.

"Okay, so how about a nickname? What about Andy?"

Stiles makes a retching noise.

"What? What's wrong with Andy?"

"Daddy had a friend in college named Andy who broke the hearts of two of his friends and gets triggered by the name," Andrew repeats robotically. Probably from the amount of times Stiles has ranted about it.

"Oh yeahhh, Andy Blossom! Ok, so heck no to that name," Erica says.

"What about your middle name? Charles? Maybe Charlie?" Parker asks.

"There already is a Charlie in the class!" Andrew says, frustrated.

"Okay, we need to think of something super unique. How about your initials? AC?" Erica asks.

"Like the real Aquaman!" Parker exclaims.

"You're right, Pokes! You would be just like Arthur Curry!" Erica is getting excited now with her son. Stiles looks closely at the grin spreading on Andrew's face. The kid actually looks really please with that suggestion.

"What do you, baby? Should we start calling you AC?" Stiles asks his son.

The boy nods, smiling from ear to ear.

"Huzzah! You have been christened with a new name! Congratulations!" Erica claps.

At that moment, Derek and Boyd walk in. They stop when they see their spouses and kids piled on the couch. Caleb, who came in Derek's arms, squirms out and runs over to join the puppy pile.

"Papa! I have a new name!" AC exclaims.

"What?" Derek asks Stiles, puzzled.

"What did you do?" Boyd asks Erica suspiciously.

"Nothing! AC was having an issue, since two other boys in his class are named Andrew. We decided he   
needed a new identity!" Erica says proudly.

"It stands for Andrew Charles! Both his names!" Parker supplies, just as excited as his Mom.

"AC," Derek says, testing it out on his tongue.

"It works," Stiles shrugs at Derek,

"I guess it does," Derek decides. "AC it is. Nice to meet you," AC beams.

xxx

The best thing about being pregnant, is probably the horniness.

Sure, you have to deal with the vomiting and the exhaustion and the general shittiness, but there are times when Stiles is completely overcome in arousal. Derek is always a willing and enthusiastic participant.

He should have known that sitting in bed in only his boxer briefs and black framed glasses, reading a book about Charlemagne was going to make Stiles want to blow him. Stiles really is a victim here.

Anyway, it's how Stiles ended up pushing his husband back, and tugging his briefs down. He grasps Derek's length, stroking it to hardness.

"Fuck, Stiles," Derek mutters, closing his eyes.

"Shh, just lay back and relax," He runs his tongue down Derek's cock, sucking on the tip and fondling his balls. He takes another hand and runs it up Derek's stomach, trailing his way up and playing with his nipples. He bobs his head up and down, deep throating Derek as much as he could while tweaking and rubbing at his nipples.

Derek rests a hand in Stiles hair, not tugging it but just rubbing at his scalp gently.  
And then, Derek is gasping, but not in a sexy way.

He tugs Stiles off of him, gasping for breath like he was being shoved under water.

"Derek?" Stiles asks, instant panic at seeing the alarm and terror on Derek's face. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I-I just, I don't know-" Derek struggles for words, his breathing quick and erratic.

"Okay, babe, just relax. Take deep breaths with me, one...two...there we go. It's okay, you're alright,"  
Derek sits there, running his hand through his hair and looking lost. "I....I was just relaxing, and like maybe I drifted for a second, and the next thing I know I'm being pulled in by something, and there's this pressure on my chest and I can't breathe,"

"Wait, you fell asleep while I was sucking you off?"

Derek gives him a look, raising his judgey eyebrows. But Stiles can't help it, okay? He fixates.

"I didn't fall asleep, I was pulled under. Your blow jobs are still top notch," Derek rolls his eyes, but smiles just a bit, and that's really all Stiles needed.

"Okay, so you were forcibly pulled into a scary slumber while receiving a five star blow job. This doesn't sound like anxiety anymore, Der,"

Derek shakes his head.

They spend the rest of the night researching, until both of them pass out again. It's not until Derek wakes them both up with his gasping does Stiles flail out of the bed awake.

"Again?" Stiles grumbles from the floor.

"This time there was a voice," Derek says. "It said midnight, preserve."

"Der, I think I know what this is!" Stiles says, flipping one of the books they have opened. "Hags!"

Derek gives Stiles a flat look, "This isn't Harry Potter, Stiles,"

"Okay, first of all, we are living in a supernatural world with werewolves and magic, so it very well could be. Second, I'm being totally serious! According to lore, Hags torment their victims by sitting on their chests and paralyzing them!"

"Okay, but why am I being targeted by a hag?" Derek asks, puzzled.

"Uh, well that's actually where I'm confused too. They usually don't bother you unless they have a reason to. Piss off any old ladies lately?" Stiles asks, getting a nudge from Derek.

"They want me to be at the preserve tonight," Derek gives Stiles a dark look.

"Well then we have approximately eighteen more hours to figure out how to kill this bitch," Stiles says.  
xxx

In the end, Stiles, Kira, and Lydia are elected as the ones who stay behind with the kids. They take them all to the Sheriff and Melissa's, gathering them all under the guise of one big sleep over.   
Derek is glad he won't have Stiles there to distract him, and that he knows his family is safe out of harm’s way.

Deaton had provided some sort of mystical-Molotov cocktail (as Stiles calls it) packed with the right herbs to vanquish about ten hags. All they need to do is round them up and get them in one place.  
It wasn't so hard, honestly. It had taken hours of chasing them throughout the preserve, but they weren't violent creatures, and eventually gave in to being rounded up. The pack had the three hags surrounded, ready to blow the bitches up. Allison had the explosive ready with her bow, just waiting for Derek's signal to fire.

The hags don't look anything like the lore dictates. They aren't wrinkly old ladies with rotting teeth and foul skin. They look relatively young, maybe around Stiles age. And Derek is only awarded with a split second of doubt over how easy it was when one of them shouts:

"This isn't worth it, Marissa! We're about to get murdered over your dumb boyfriend!" The red headed one says angrily.

The blond one whimpers, "He didn't say there would be so many werewolves! Or that there would be two alphas!"

Derek blinks. He must already be bleeding red with his vision, he looks over at Laura who nods her head confirmation. She still has her red eyes, so the process must not be totally complete.

"Listen, please just let us go. No harm no foul, right?" The brunette asks.

Erica cackles, "Yeah right. Why don't you tell us why your boyfriend wants us dead, and we'll consider it,"

Scott, Boyd and Isaac growl in agreement. Jordan just lights his hands up threateningly.

"He didn't say to kill you! Just to harass you!" The blond one, Marissa, says.

They all look at each other, exchanging alarmed looks.

"Wait, who's your boyfriend?" Allison asks, still cocking her crossbow.

"Some asshole who's been using her for her powers, obviously," The red headed one grumbles.

"I think he just wanted to play a joke! Like Nicki said, no harm no foul?" Marissa asks weakly.

"I think she asked you a question," Laura says through bared teeth.

"His name's Peter. I don't think he meant any real harm-"

But nobody is listening to her anymore.

"Derek, the kids!" Laura shouts, but Derek barely hears her. He runs as fast as he can back to his family.  
xxx

Stiles is the only one left awake. From what Deaton had made it seem like, the hags really shouldn't be an issue for the wolves, so Stiles waved Kira and Lydia off to bed with ease when they got tired.

"I'm just a little keyed up, I'll be fine," is what he told the Sheriff and Melissa. They nodded at him, then followed suit upstairs for bed.

Stiles just couldn't sleep. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and resolved to drink his tea and try to distract himself with a book.

That all went to shit when he hears a knock at the door.

He grabs his faithful baseball bat, walking to the door with caution.

"Who is it?" He tries to ask with as much courage as he can muster. He lays one hand absently on his abdomen, trying to reassure his baby.

"Oh Stiles, why don't you open the door and have a little chat with me? It shouldn't be more than a few minutes at best,"

His blood ran cold when he hears that voice. It's one that he's memorized well from his past. 

Understanding washes over him, and he opens the door. Not because he wants to, but because he knows Peter's only knocking to fuck with his mind. If he wants to come in, he will.

"You sent the hags," Stiles accuses, still clutching his bat.

"I just wanted to make sure we had a chance to speak, Stiles. My nephew can be a bit of a nuisance, wouldn't you say?" Peter simpers at him, strolling inside and sitting on the couch like he fucking owns the place.

"What do you want, Peter?" Though Stiles has a pretty good idea of what brought him here.

"Oh Stiles, we both know you're much too clever not to have figured it out. A little birdy told me a certain Alpha wolf was transferring her powers," He sing-songs, and Jesus can he get any creepier?

"They're already going to Derek, Peter. There's nothing more you can do,"

"Oh, but of course they haven't fully transferred yet? And we both know I would be a far better Alpha than your husband,"

Stiles snorts, "Only in your dreams, asshole. You would be a shit Alpha, since you're a shit person,"  
Peter growls angrily, getting up from the couch. Stiles takes a step back, waving his bat threateningly.

 

"Derek does not have what it takes to lead this pack, but I do! He's weak, he would let everyone be as they are. This kind of power needs to be controlled, don't you agree? You know, deep down inside, that Derek would be a weak choice to lead. I, on the other hand, know what it takes to be a leader,"

"You're wrong. I believe with ever fiber of my being that Derek will be an amazing leader. So why don't you just run off back to the depraved pit you crawled out of?"

"Stiles. I figured you might be this way. Which is why I have a plan B, force Laura and Derek to give them to me," He growls, blue eyes glowing and claws lengthening.

"Uncles Stiles? What's going on?" Talia appears, rubbing her eyes as though she just woke up.  
Peter faults just a bit, noticing Talia.

"Laura?" He asks in shock. And it's in that moment that Stiles fully appreciates how far gone Peter is. 

He's not just evil. he really has lost his mind.

"Bee, go back upstairs," He says firmly, standing in front of Talia.

"I'm not Laura, I'm Talia," She says stubbornly. Oh Jesus, now is not the time for teenage bravado. "Who are you?" At least she sounds brave, Stiles will give her that one.

"It appears that I am your Great Uncle, child. And I'm hurt that my niece didn't tell you about me," He walks in Talia's direction.

"Peter, why don't you just leave? Derek will kill you if he finds you here," Stiles shouts frantically, running between Talia and Peter.

"Or maybe I should have Derek find his mate and spawn under my claws. Maybe then he'll give me what's mine! Huh? How's that sound? How about we get those brats of your down here and get some real leverage going!" Peter roars, backing Stiles into a wall, grabbing the bat out of his hand and throwing it. Kira and Lydia come running down, Kira baring her Katana and Lydia pulling out a crossbow of her own.

"You wouldn't, Peter." Stiles hisses.

"How do you know what I would and wouldn't do?" Peter snarls in his face, holding his claws at Stiles' throat. But Stiles sees something new. He sees Peter's ears pick up on what Derek could last night, a new heartbeat. He sees the hesitation in Peter's eyes, recognizing the heartbeat for what it is.

"Because I know you, Peter. As much as you want the Alpha power, you want your bloodline to continue   
even more. Would you really kill your nephew's mate and children?"

Peter stutters for a moment, but growls in anger the next.

"Shut the fuck up about what you don't understand!"

It's at that moment that the door bursts open, the rest of the pack filing in and roaring in anger. Laura runs straight for Talia, hugging her tightly.

Derek is leading them, red eyes glowing and looking as deadly as ever.

"Step away from my mate," He growls.

"The-the Alpha powers. They're complete," Peter says weakly. \

"Step away, Peter. This is my final warning,"

"Derek! He isn't going to do anything, right Peter? He was just backing away!" Stiles shouts, looking at Peter in the eyes. He see's something he didn't see before. A desperate man yearning for a pack.  
Peter blinks away the blue, retracting his claws and stepping back. Derek immediately runs between them, pushing Stiles back behind him protectively.

"Your mate's right, Derek. We were just having a nice chat, is all," Peter spits.

"Chat or not. If you ever come near my pack, or threaten my family again, I will kill you, you understand?" Peter looks around, at Derek's entire pack. All hateful faces, promising what Derek said.

"I understand. Have a nice life, you two," He directs it at Derek and Laura, and walks out.

They all stand there, frozen until they hear a cry upstairs. Then they all run up to check on their kids.

xxx

Laura doesn't take long to move after Peter. She wants a fresh start, and to take Talia away from it all now more than ever. Derek can't say he blames her, but he knows that life isn't for him. He's happy with his pack.

They drive them to the airport, Claudia clinging on to Talia as she checks her luggage and tries to get through security. Derek has to peel her away, and almost cries with Claudia when he realizes he wants to do the same thing to Laura.

They have a group hug, and Talia cries as she kisses her cousins goodbye.

"You're going to be amazing, Der. We'll see you soon," Laura whispers in his ear.  
And that's it, she leaves.

He knows he owes Stiles everything. Stiles, Claudia, AC, Caleb and the baby. They're his family, his pack. He says as much when they're finally moved into their new home. Stiles is sitting on the floor with the kids, putting lunch out since they don't have their furniture unpacked yet.

He looks at Stiles as he's scooping tuna onto Caleb's plate.

"I love you so much, you know that? You and the kids are my everything. This is what I want," He can't help it, he just needs to say it.

Stiles smiles softly, the kind of smile that warms Derek's insides and makes him feel everything at once.

"I love you too, Sourwolf,"

Derek clears his throat. "So, Pups. Daddy and I have an announcement to make!"

"What is nouncement?" Caleb asks.

"It means Papa has something very important he wants to tell you," Stiles tells him. Caleb nods seriously.

"Ok Papa,"

"Daddy is going to have another baby. You guys are going to have a sister or brother!" A pause, then:

"How do we make it a sister?" Claudia asks.

"You have baby?" Caleb point at Stiles, amazed.

"Do I need to share a room again?" AC asks.

Stiles and Derek look at each other and laugh. Another kid wouldn’t be so bad.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on tumblr as MickeyHale! I'd love to hear any prompts or ideas you might have for this universe.


End file.
